


Mantis

by meiqis



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: M/M, because I don't wanna spoiler, black widow!au, more ships to be added with time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 16:59:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14835599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meiqis/pseuds/meiqis
Summary: Zhengting discovers he has an unhealthy obsession with getting men hooked and corrupted and then getting rid of themaka me taking inspiration from one of my favorite movies, Die Gottesanbeterin (The Praying Mantis)





	Mantis

**Author's Note:**

> I said I took inspiration from Die Gottesanbeterin but truth is that [this prompt](https://twitter.com/tingtingbot/status/1000703775663972352?s=19) tempted me to it

It was calming, utterly and entirely calming, being with Wenjun was always as Zhengting had figured months after knowing the younger now, calming and relaxing as if sitting in those little sceneries with a waterfall and cherry blossoms and the chirping of birds as it always seemed to come up in animation movies, or like those rooms for meditation his annoying aunt had always dragged him to to embrace the peaceful spirit of buddhism. It wasn't that it wasn't something he had noticed earlier, Wenjun had always been a sanctuary of calm and retreat, someone who made him quiet down and just breathe after tiring days surrounded by his younger cousins and their friends and it was all too hectic and energetic so these moments at night, sneaking into a dorm room that wasn't his, greeted by the studious boy wearing his glasses and sitting at his desk, back hunched over as he looked into books and read them oh so carefully, all sciences and formulas and weird drawings that lead Zhengting to do a pose of throwing up each and every time, they were quite appreciated, with the boy with hair dyed the color of dark honey solving from his books, rolling over with his chair and then them sitting down on his bed, sometimes with a movie, sometimes with music, sometimes they'd also both try to study or read something, but it was always calm.  
Too calm.  
That came right after the realization of how Wenjun was always calm, always quiet, always just perfectly collected and softly smiling, and within Zhengting there was an urge to see all of this come undone so this night he just leaned in, grabbed the scrawny boy by his neck and pulled him close, his own soft lips, smooth and slightly tinted with strawberry lip balm, pressing against a pair that was slightly dry, roughened up after biting down onto it or having it grind against pencils, and Zhengting didn't even mind because in a way this contrast was all too fascinating and he was eager to test it further, ever so lightly moving his lips but when there was no reaction, he had to pull back. Retreat and see a look of confusion that was almost comical on an originally beautiful face, eyes big and lips finally parting and he knew he was supposed to just let him be, not take advantage any further but seeing his rough petals coming undone, he didn't hold back this time, grabbing him by the neck in a hold that seemed gentle at first while leaning in with the speed of a predator, kissing the future scientist again before he could react and taking advantage of the little opening that was his mouth to slip his tongue inside and in a kiss that was all but controlled or calm but rather and sloppy and messy because Zhengting hadn't done this for too long but he didn't mind it because it didn't seem like Wenjun knew much about kissing, so perfectly fitting the image of a nerd who didn't know anything and probably had spent all his school years silently sitting in the corner and reading, pretty looks only spotted with eagle eyes for they were hidden behind thick glasses and outgrown bangs, body too lanky to be considered good-looking and bony even to the dance major’s touch and it all seemed to only fade out because the idea of this innocent person slowly being corrupted was all too sweet and all too satisfying to ever awake the wish to stop.  
Not bothered by flimsy hands grabbing onto sheets with a lack of knowledge of where to put them, by the clumsy and clueless way in which he replied to his kiss, in all the willingness and confusion alike that didn't arouse a noise of protest even once and even when their lips parted and beautiful rosy lips found their way down to a heated and flushed neck and sharp collarbones and not even when Wenjun looked into the mirror the next morning when taking a shower and found all the dark marks that had bloomed around his nape and shoulders but his bed had been empty because the one to corrupt him had been long since gone. 

It went on for weeks and months, went on so slow and gentle because Zhengting didn't rush but also because Zhengting knew that expectations and waiting made reaching the goal all the sweeter so he did it all too patiently, always in the same rhythm and routine, settled on Wenjun's bed, watching a movie, listening to music, reading books and doing homework, it always varied but it never changed how Zhengting would grow bored at one point in time and look for new ways to distract and busy himself, would sometimes kiss Wenjun in all the different ways, slow and sensual or heated and greedy or shy and coy, would sometimes slide his hands beneath clothes to explore that scrawny body with his digits spread and his palm flat and it took time but it happened, his hand going too low, landing between thin legs and finding what he had hoped to, all stiff and all hard, other times he would just use his lips on this slightly dry skin, because he knew Wenjun didn't care as much about beauty as he did, didn't care about sweetly scented body lotion and silky skin, didn't care about sheet masks and all the kinds of moisturizer, didn't care about concealer and eyeshadow, an entire opposite to Zhengting who found it all too intriguing and in curiosity sometimes his lips would travel too low and little gasps and pants would fill the room with flimsy hands still just shyly holding on to sheets because he didn't know where to place them.  
Zhengting knew he had won one day when he didn't need to initiate the kiss all on his own but when his little nerdy boytoy did it on his own, leaning closer when it seemed to take too long for him to wait for the older to initiate it all over again, when a few days later there was a hand sliding between his toned thighs, more nights passed and there were dry lips hatched to his skin and exploring his body and going too low and there was the sound of triumphant marches playing in the dancer's ears when he knew he had gotten what he wanted and finally corrupted the science boy in all the right but oh so wrong ways, knowing he had made him addicted and hooked to this when it was all but a game to him, to win or to lose, to corrupt or to fail, and for sure he had succeeded as he smiled softly and patted hair the color of dark hair gently.  
With Wenjun it was all calm and quiet, even their first time, in this single dorm room, with clothes undone and too little noise because the science boy was always silent and didn't speak much, wasn't loud and didn't yell unlike his few friends, didn't laugh disturbing everyone else and was the kid to sit in utter silence in libraries and it was to be expected and yet disappointing because Zhengting had hoped that by driving the younger into ecstacy and sending him off to a state of delirium would maybe make him lose it finally. But it didn't and maybe that was for the better cause they were still on dorm and not everyone needed to know about just what they were doing until they collapsed altogether, sweaty and gasping and entirely out of breath, on the backs and looking at the ceiling until Zhengting broke into a little fit of laughter because this was a win and Wenjun didn't even notice because he thought it stemmed from a rush of adrenaline and euphoria and didn't question it as instead he muttered, “You are my first…” 

It was months later, after taking his close friend's virginity, after several more nights spent together and his favorite science nerd becoming a bit more settled with their circumstances and his own desires, it was when they were out shopping after exam season, scent of potted flowers carried down the shopping street, dripping plastic cups of coffee in their hands and walking into whatever shop had taken Zhengting's interest, when the dancer was wearing the quite and undoubtedly sexy outfit with black fabric hugging his thighs and accentuating them in all the right ways, with sheer chiffon adorning his upper body and making his slender figure all too obvious, not hiding the black splotches of his tattoo or the lines of his abs faintly visible, when Wenjun only gave him a small smile after he had asked how he looked, that he decided it was _boring_. Because he had already won and he had already had his fun corrupting this science kid, because he had taken his virginity in all the right ways and gotten his trust all too easily, because sitting in silence in a bed that wasn't his own while watching movies or listening to music or doing homework or reading books was dull and offered no excitement, because daring little actions that happened in the bedroom at times when the younger initiated things on his own but never once took place in public, out in the open and visible to stranger eyes, was lacking and right there Zhengting's idea of a perfect relationship that might take place shattered and hours later it was him who didn't finish in bed but just left and it would have been a day in vain if only he hadn't bought such perfect outfit earlier on with tight fabric and sheer chiffon so he still came back smiling when entering his own dorm room. 

There was a possibility it could've ended all nicely and harmless, he could've just broken up the normal way after months of still letting Wenjun linger in the idea of their picture perfect relationship with his own graduation nearing because he couldn't bother to tell his little toy that he took on a bigger degree but had told him he'd finish up with this year and it wasn't even a risk, their departments too far apart, the change of dorms too easy, their friends never a joined circle and it was his way to escape this boredom of a relationship by ending it just like that and leaving his future former lover with the idea of having gone back to his hometown and being anything but willing to do long distance.  
It might have ended all innocent like this if it weren't for a certain night, looking for his supposed boyfriend, not in his room with his back hunched and eyes glued to formulas, not in the shared living room on their floor with only some other kids sitting around, not on the rooftop that was mostly off-limits but had been their secret make out spot more than once, not… anywhere which was a pity because now he wasn't able to break up with him in the quick and efficient and merciful ways he had had planned.  
A few messages, a vibrating phone, some lighted words later and he knew better, long legs fast as they carried him out of the dorm and across the college areas, away from a place he called his little home of few square meter and off to a building he had hardly ever visited and surely never entered because the idea of science made him sick and rather swallow a bunch of pills that would make him throw up and send him onto trips than ever try to do chemistry or biology or physics or even maths again and screw those people saying that a musical talent also equaled skills in the numerical field because in Zhengting's mind that sure only was a one-way ticket.  
If he ever before had thought he hated science and the idea of the scientifical department, now he was even more so convinced he disliked it, too many hallways, too little signs, he felt as if he had been running around the building for eternity now, too many numbers, too many mentions of all these scientific things that just kept messing with his mind and not even asking an innocent boy, harshly grabbing him by the arm when passing by, a smile too saccharine thanks to his annoyance, could help him much despite the perfect description as to where he was supposed to go, how to reach there, getting him more and more annoyed by the second as he kept still running through the building, hallways illuminated, hallways with no light, entirely lost within a building he didn’t know at all and that seemed to be all the bigger as compared to the department of music, film and theatre, noises guiding people around, screeching sounds of untuned violins after hours of practice, the so dramatic yells of acting majors in the middle of rehearsals of scenes and plays and acts, the mixed tunes of music and squeaks of rubber on the floor when entering the hallways of the dance majors and their several practice rooms, hip hop and jazz and classical music and waltzes and Latin and all that much sound, making it such an alive being even late at night while science was… eerie.  
It was calm and quiet and it was exactly like Wenjun, predictable and yet confusing, all too controlled, all too _boring_ and it just made him realize once again how they weren’t made for each other until he passed by a hallway, finally, giant windows of glass granting sight into laboratories, chemicals and burners, all the many containers whose names he was sure he had learnt before and all forgotten, ignoring them entirely unless those moments when they were held within his boytoy’s hands and for a moment he had to consider how it was truly a pity, leaving this beautiful face behind just because his personality was so utterly _dull_ that it wasn’t even exciting him anymore, it was a face worthy of being on magazine covers if only his whole aura didn’t scream nerd and labrat, truly a pity he figured as he kept watching the younger, mixing things and looking at chemicals, at times stepping back to progress reactions that were a bit more intense or erratic, it was fascinating in its own way, an utterly _boring_ way actually, so once he had grown bored of it, he just knocked his knuckles against the window, startling the tall science major, watching how bottles nearly slipped his hands as he whipped around, expression so utterly like a meerkat’s it was nearly comical if only his eyes weren’t glued to those small cases he was holding, nearly slipping, nearly dropping, thrilled with the excitement that was curiosity upon what might have happened if only it were that way, if they had dropped, spilled, surely not all that harmless as he judged by that tight grip now and only when they were put aside, when Wenjun had his hands free and let him in, he could see that shock within the younger for real.  
“So this is a lab,” he hummed softly, just walking into the room as if he hadn’t seen the way he had leaned in, silently asking for a kiss he wouldn’t receive and Zhengting just smiled to himself as he walked around the paths between tables, fingers grazine materials and utensils, looking at what looked alike, watching what looked similar, until his attention returned to his playmate still caught up in the pretense of a relationship the older had never planned to continue, not after winning a game that only took place within his own mind, invisible to everyone else, not to be seen, not to be noticed, and for sure one person did not notice at all. “You look good in here. Maybe I should have shown up earlier than this.”  
A smile too saccharine and a gaze too innocent, one person did not notice and this was why it was so utterly boring because Wenjun didn’t realize the most obvious of things. Fakin interest, lithe steps, long strides, he stepped closer to the only busy workplace, looking at chemicals, clear liquids, salt, he didn’t understand a thing but things that looked similar, things that might get mistaken, they easily switched places while his mouth was still busy, talking and telling, as if there was nothing of him being focused on anything but his words, “What a pity I only got to see it now before I have to leave… A few more days and I’ll be back home. Mom already said she misses me and my younger sister too…”  
Words that were fleeting and silence that was too calm, he didn’t need to look, didn’t need to turn around, he already knew, could imagine that startled face perfectly, because Wenjun hadn’t known, because he hadn’t been told, this lie of him going home, words expressing it, it wasn’t just a break, not just holidays, it was finality and honesty, no coming back, a perfect lie, perfect and tragic, and he turned around, smile sweet and eyes wrinkly, “We’ll hopefully see each other before I have to leave.” A fleeting kiss after fleeting words, nothing but a peck and no time for a reply, he left the younger standing just like that, startled and confused and all but understanding this situation in which he was left all alone in a lab and Zhengting knew it was but a few more minutes of walking around hallways, of getting himself something to drink from a vending machine he had seen, returning, watching through windows, hidden in the shadows, that the younger would continue his work because that was what he always did, when he was confused, when he was startled, when he didn’t understand, Wenjun liked the things that were predictable, things that were dull, things that were boring, and a relationship had been the only change to it, an exciting, a vexing change, and now it would be gone so all he could do was focus on what he knew, hands reaching blindly, used to order he had set, wanting to grab all the right things and the dancer bit into his protein bar when seeing horrible shock depicted on such a pretty face, shock twisting beauty into ugly and knowledge into despair when smoke rose up from the glass and panic emerged, long limbs rushing to a door that was locked, windows that were always locked, no way out, fists slamming glass and Zhengting felt satisfaction as he had never before.  
He had won a game already weeks ago, he had claimed what wasn’t his to claim, he had made someone weak and desire the unpredictable when everything else was supposed to be dull and bland and now he ended a game that only he had started and it wasn’t in the ways he wanted, wasn’t how he had planned to, but it was so utterly satisfying, seeing how life drained out of a body in all the cruel ways, seeing limbs giving in and a frame collapsed, emerging from the shadows and stepping close. He hadn’t expected it, had made a bet in his mind, a bet of whether he would die or survive, poisoned or alive, he hadn’t cared all too much, had made it a game, a play, an act, because it was what he liked, winning in things he might not win and being right in situations that were but a bet, with teeth chewing on the tough consistency of a protein bar that had been stored too long because science nerds didn’t care about it, didn’t look into sustaining muscle and ate nuts and fruits, because that was what he had learned after watching Wenjun for months living turning into seconds of observing him dying, an ugly mess on the ground, flailing limbs, as if he had been electrocuted when it was but chemicals and there was a scream of help coming from his blood-shot eyes while the dancer only finished his protein bar.  
It had been satisfying in all the right but oh so wrong ways because he was aware he shouldn’t enjoy killing someone, staging it as accident because it was late, because he was clumsy, because mistakes happened, because he hadn’t been supposed to be alone, but oh had he done, leading on a person was just all that satisfying but it was even more entertaining to end this game, kill the prey in a chase of mouse and cat and unfortunately for his little plaything he had been the predator and the younger the quarry.

**Author's Note:**

> I have to give my huge thanks to @quonzhe because she helped me out a lot with parts of this  
> Questions and alike, reach me on twitter [twitter](https://twitter.com/zhengjunist) or cc /dadting
> 
> I partly wrote this on the plane so I apologize if there are mistakes  
> Also, I actually have no idea of chemicals and how to murder someone with that or what it'll look like so I apologize to anyone who thinks this seems surreal but there'll be _accidents_ with more details and some with less


End file.
